Google's trouble, iiNet's new battle & Facebook's next move

26/02/10 posted by Liz Niland

After their landmark David versus Goliath win, Perth-based internet service provider iiNet is set for a second round in the ring with Hollywood and the anti-piracy group AFACT. As reported by The Australian, AFACT are putting forth an appeal focused on “challenging judge Dennis Cowdroy's finding that iiNet had not authorised its customers to breach copyright”. It’s likely that no one, probably not even iiNet, is surprised by the action given the global interest and repercussions the original ruling stimulated.

Other courtroom news comes via Italy where a judge has given six-month suspended sentences to three Google executives over the posting of a video on the site’s Video area. Featuring the bullying of a person with Down syndrome, the video was uploaded by the young man’s attackers - his classmates. According to Google, their three convicted employees were not even aware of the video until after it was already removed from Google Video in cooperation with police in Turin.

Italian bloggers have taken the side of the global giant and Google plan to fight the ruling saying that it “It attacks the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built.” With perhaps a hint towards the Australian Facebook censorship calls I mentioned yesterday, Google argue that if social networks and community content-driven sites are made responsible for “vetting every single piece of content that is uploaded to them — every piece of text, every photo, every file, every video — then the Web as we know it will cease to exist, and many of the economic, social, political and technological benefits it brings could disappear.” 



On the Facebook subject though, rumours have been swirling about a possible push towards location-based services. Word is that Facebook have been digging up background information on location check-in service Loopt. While Facebook have long stayed out of such services, the rivalry stirred up by location-friendly Google Buzz may have pushed the social site to explore some new horizons. The addition of this extra option to Facebook would no doubt cause uproar in regards to privacy issues, but it could provide an added benefit for getting the most out of your social networking; possibly allowing for more targeted marketing solutions.